Little Girl Destiny
by Traitor of All Traitors
Summary: A/N: This belonged to Lollipop456, but has been transferred to me, the Traitor of All Traitors. In the world of The Skeleton Key, there exists souls of malevolence and filled with dark desires, but there are also souls of benevolence, meant to protect the innocent from the guilty. It is a scale, a test, an eternal struggle of light against darkness, between justice and injustice.
1. Prologue

Creation began on 01-24-15

Creation ended on 01-24-15

The Skeleton Key

Little Girl Destiny: Prologue

A/N: Originally, this story belonged to the creative and invigorating _Lollipop456_, but now it's mine, and I intend to bring it to completion in a grander way. Originally intended as a horror/mystery, I will remold it as a supernatural/spiritual. Credit goes to _Lollipop456_ for creating the initial story. Let's revive and expand!

SCREECH-CRASH! The ambulance that was carrying the incapacitated Violet and Ben Devoreaux had collided with a delivery truck and turned the ambulance over.

Ben looked around, dazed, seeing that his wife, his Violet, was already dead or at least unconscious. Since the elderly gentleman had a severe stroke that paralyzed his power of speech and mobility, he couldn't say or do anything, leaving him with his sense of sight and hearing. He saw that the paramedics were already dead, including the ambulance driver.

"Oh, my God!" A feminine voice cried out.

Ben, with some effort, turned his head slightly and saw Jill Pace climbing into the overturned vehicle, making her way over to him, and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Ben! Are you alright?" Jill asked quietly.

Ben didn't have time to answer, or even gesture, "Yes."

Before he could…he passed on into the unknown.

-x-

In the time span of nine days later after the automobile accident, Luke Race woke up from what seemed like a long sleep, looking at his hands, his smooth, silk hands. He then looked around his alien environment, seeing that he was at the Devoreaux's plantation…in their primary bedroom…beside a familiar face.

Caroline Ellis, who was this familiar face, woke up in oblivion, from a previous oblivion, confused and shocked all at once.

"Caroline?" Luke asked her in a rasp whisper.

Caroline leaped out of the bed and grabbed a broken, old post, and backed into a corner.

"Stay away from me, Luke!" Caroline cried out; ever since her previous experience, she didn't know who to trust, as anyone could be anyone else.

"Caroline, it's me, Ben. Well, not Ben…but I was Ben. Remember? Me and you were in the ambulance…" Luke began, explaining what he knew happened. "We crashed into a drunk driver and it turned us over…Violet died, but I lived."

Caroline finally realized the truth and dropped the broken post.

"Are we truly back?" She asked Luke, who smiled.

He and Caroline gazed into a nearby mirror, and there they were, bodies and souls finally in their proper place, like waking from a nightmare that had no end.

"I don't understand, if we're here and alive, then where's Papa and Cecile?" Caroline asked.

Luke found some ashes scattered around the bedroom floor. He scooped some up in one hand and then brushed it off.

"I don't know. Let's just get the Hell out of this place." Luke said.

"After all we went through… I cared for you when you were Ben, so does that count for something?" Caroline joked and Luke laughed gently.

"Yeah, it actually does count… I always knew I would like to see a pretty face in front of me when I woke up." Luke explained.

Caroline and Luke looked at each other in the eye. Even though it was a bizarre occurrence, they had a connection from the moment they met…and that connection was now sealed. With a long and passionate kiss, hand in hand, they left the the plantation…in the hopes of never visiting it again.

But little did they know, their future was going to intertwine with the past.

A/N: And here we have the prologue chapter of the remake of _Little Girl Destiny_. The next chapters will be revised and posted in due time. Any reviews or private messages are greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter One

Creation began on 01-25-15

Creation ended on 01-25-15

The Skeleton Key

Little Girl Destiny: Chapter One

After a period of at least two months of dating and readjusting to their environment, both physical and spiritual, Luke and Caroline got married in a huge, protestant church. They knew that they had to leave Louisiana and fast, as they feared that, just because they had been restored to their true selves, they could've lost their bodies to Papa and Cecile a second time, fearing that they were out there in hiding, but Luke refused to leave just yet. It was mainly because his life was still in the State, so was his office. Reluctantly, Caroline agreed to stay, but only as long as they hid out in a small town, not in the bayou. To make her happy, Luke agreed, and they moved into a two-story mansion in a decent-looking town.

It wasn't long after buying the mansion did they discover that Caroline was pregnant with a girl. While Luke was ecstatic at having a family with his wife, Caroline seemed uneasy by it all, as she still had some terrible nightmares of her time at the plantation.

-x-

Five months later, Caroline, out of curiosity, went up to the attic of their mansion to see if she could find any old toys or baby clothes for their daughter. It was dangerous to be in there with mice and snakes, and Caroline was already in a delicate condition, but after escaping from a haunted manor and its greedy, defiled occupants, she didn't fear a crummy, old attic. She found five old boxes filled with antique toys and a few articles of children's clothing, but everything seemed too out of date to be worn.

Thud! Caroline heard a huge banging above her head.

Thinking something like an acorn or tree branch had hit the roof, she continued to search around the attic. But the banging just got louder from that point, and that's when Caroline realized that it was coming from within the attic. She looked around for a rat or a loose wallboard, but there was nothing. As she circled her eyes around the room, and then spotted a door, an actual door in the attic that she hadn't seen earlier, Caroline became frightened, but she knew she had to see what was on the other side.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The noise grew louder and louder.

Caroline opened the door and let out a small gasp.

"Oh, my god," she whispered.

A/N: The deeper we progress into a story that pulls at our heartstrings, the more we seek out its conclusion, for better or for worse.


	3. Chapter Two

Creation began on 01-25-15

Creation ended on 01-25-15

The Skeleton Key

Little Girl Destiny: Chapter Two

Finished with his workload for the time being, Luke came back home from the office, whistling the rest of the day away.

As he hung up his coat he heard the most blood-curdling scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" He heard Caroline scream.

Luke wasted no time and ran upstairs to find his wife. He looked in their bedroom, then the bathroom, but she wasn't in either.

"Caroline? Caroline?!" Luke called out.

"I'm in the attic!" She called back frantically.

Luke quickly rushed up the stairs to the attic and found his wife, paralyzed with fear, and dropped down to both knees in the middle of the room.

"Honey, what happened? Is it the baby?" Luke asked.

"There is something behind that door. I don't know what it is. It was a skeleton with clothes…and eyes. Dark, blue eyes… It was a little girl." Caroline said quietly.

Luke got up and looked behind the door, but there was nothing there but an empty storage space. He smiled comfortingly and helped Caroline up; she seemed to be scared to death…probably beyond that. It took them halfway down the steps before Caroline fainted. Luke was expecting it and managed to catch her. It wasn't easy for him to carry Caroline to their bedroom, considering the weight she had gain in her pregnancy, but he did manage somehow, and called the doctor as fast as he knew how.

Caroline finally woke up in their bed, she had been asleep for at least twelve hours, and Luke had not left her once. Of course, he had dozed off while caring for her.

"How long was I out?" Caroline suddenly asked.

Luke woke up, dazed for a second, but answered his wife's question.

"Uh…about twelve hours. What the Hell happened, Carry? You were panicked and had no idea where you were for a moment and you had night sweats." Luke explained.

"Is the baby okay?" Caroline asked, trying to ignore Luke's question.

"The baby's fine, but I'm worried about you right now. You saw something in that attic… Tell me what it was. The truth." Luke demanded of her.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" Caroline said.

"I think 'crazy' is our middle name, Carry. But I do have a feeling that you are delusional." Luke said reluctantly.

"I'm NOT crazy, Luke! I saw a live skeleton in our attic!" Caroline cried.

Luke took out his cell phone and dialed a number, and Caroline watched on with curiosity.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked softly.

"Canceling all my cases. I'm staying here with you until the baby's born." Luke explained.

"No, I can take care of myself. I just had a little scare." Caroline said confidently.

"Honey, a little scare is wetting your pants after seeing a mouse. You passed out and were in absolute panic!" Luke argued.

"I'm fine now. You should go back to work." Caroline smiled gently.

"Not for a couple of weeks. I'll get Jill to look after you while I'm gone." Luke concluded.

Caroline fell asleep again, with Luke holding her hand. She knew she was safe… At least for the moment, she was safe.


	4. Chapter Three

Creation began on 01-26-15

Creation ended on 01-26-15

The Skeleton Key

Little Girl Destiny: Chapter Three

After a couple of more weeks, Luke went back to the firm and tried his best not to think about his nervous and frightened wife.

_What if she's right? What if there really was a death in our house? What if whatever killed the girl is still there?_ Luke had these thoughts beating around in his head all that afternoon, before he realized that he had to know for sure.

He didn't know why, but Luke loved to collect old newspaper articles on the hauntings in Louisiana. There wasn't a lot of them, so his articles were able to fit into a small box. He dug through the box, but found nothing on a little girl's death. That is, until he reached the bottom of the box.

He scanned the article and read it aloud to himself.

"_Marianne Dawson, ten years old… Death caused by apparent suicide. Her parents, John and Eloise Dawson, have been claiming to see her in their attic… Her skeleton is apparently alive…and her eyes are moving, her mouth is talking. Eloise highly believes in "hoodoo", where a spirit can live by taking on another body to live in. It is said that in Nineteen-Thirty, she snuck over to a recluse bayou manor and was able to practice "hoodoo" with the other children. Their teachers were later on lynched, they were the servants who people identified by calling them… Justify and Cecile. We only wish our blessings and good news for the Dawsons. John Love. Obituaries, Nineteen-Twenty-Eight."_

Luke couldn't believe what he was reading, that there really was a living skeleton in their house who, apparently, is waiting for newcomers. The worse part is that she could take over anyone's body, including Jill's…or worse…even Caroline! He quickly grabbed his wireless phone and dialed the house, hoping for Jill to answer.

"Pace resident. This is Jill speaking," Jill's voice came through on the other line.

"Jill, get Caroline out of that house! There is someone in there with you. Get her out…"

But before Luke could finish, he heard a ghastly moan come over on the other line. He wasted no time and drove over to the house, only to find blood smeared allover the floor. He feared the worst had happened when the call disconnected.

"Jill! Caroline!" He called out to them.


	5. Chapter Four

Creation began on 01-26-15

Creation ended on 01-26-15

The Skeleton Key

Little Girl Destiny: Chapter Four

Luke had almost slipped and fell while trying to get up the stairs, as there was blood everywhere, and he was determined to find out who was bleeding and why. He poked his head into the bathroom and found Jill, lying in the tub, naked and blood-stained. Ripping the shower curtain down, he threw it over Jill's lifeless body, hoping that it was the last body he would ever see dead. Then, he made his way to his and Caroline's bedroom and found her sitting up in bed, alive but in complete shock over what had happened.

Luke rushed over to her and kissed her for a long time.

Caroline seemed so out of it, almost like she woke up from a nightmare.

"Carry, are you all right? Carry?" Luke cried, and Caroline finally snapped out of it and faced Luke, smiling, gently but nervously.

"I'm fine… I just heard the strangest sounds. I thought something had happened to Jill…" Caroline whispered to him.

Luke draped his coat around Caroline and helped her out of bed and to a different bathroom in the mansion; he didn't want her to see Jill's body.

"Darling, take a shower. We're getting the Hell out of this place!" Luke explained.

Caroline nodded in agreement and took a ten-minute shower. By then, Luke had packed two suitcases and had his car keys already in hand. As they were leaving, Caroline caught a glimpse of the dead body, but Luke put his arms around her and led her away from the bathroom.

"There's nothing we can for her, Carry. We have to leave her here." Luke explained.

As they fled the house and sped down the road, Caroline seemed very oblivious as to why Luke took her out of the house.

"I know what you're thinking. I am the most whacked-out husband in all of Louisiana. But I couldn't let you stay in that house, not with the baby on the way and the hoodoo…" Luke began.

"What did you just say?" Caroline cut him off.

Luke sighed and looked at wife, his solemnity showing.

"Caroline, if we stay there, our past will smack us right in our faces!" Luke stated.

-x-

It was about a month later that Caroline and Luke bought a vacation house after doing a more thorough background check on it before they moved in.

One night, Caroline felt a sharp pain poking her in her side and stomach… She knew she was in labor, and quickly woke up her sleeping husband.

"Luke… I think it's time," said Caroline, painfully, and Luke got out of bed and slipped his shirt on. Just as Caroline was about to get out of bed, another contraction hit her hard, paralyzing her from the legs down.

"I'm making a house call. It's too late to drive in this goddamn storm." Luke grumbled, and Caroline found it ironic that it was storming on the day she was about to deliver a baby, but she didn't care as long as she came out healthy.

It took thirty minutes after the call before Dr. Nole arrived and set up for the delivery. The labor dragged on for several hours. Maybe more than four hours.

Luke never left Caroline's side ONCE, not even to go get something for the doctor.

When the time came for Caroline to do the hard work, she seemed very frightened at pushing the baby out…as if something would happen to her if she did.

"Caroline…baby, this is it! You have to deliver our child." Luke urged her.

"I don't want her to die," she moaned, and then Luke took her hand and put his other hand on her forehead.

"Nothing is going to happen. We are out of that Godforsaken place, away from the bayous and away from that hoodoo crap. Carry, you have to deliver our baby girl…now or never." Luke whispered to her, and she smiled, but it was suddenly twisted into a pain-filled one with another contraction, the grip that she had on Luke's hand suddenly became tight and firm.

Caroline bore down and began pushing. After a couple of long pushes, the nervous couple heard a small wail…and Luke broke down in tears of relief. This made Caroline so happy that the baby was crying and not dead like she had expected out of fear. She was handed their small and fragile baby girl after she was wrapped in a soft blanket.

Doctor Nole simply smiled and left the room.

"Now that she's here, what are we going to call her?" Luke asked her in a low whisper.

After a brief pause, Caroline answered, "Destiny. I want to call her Destiny."

They smiled down at their baby girl, who silently looked up at her proud parents.


	6. Chapter Five

Creation began on 01-27-15

Creation ended on 01-27-15

The Skeleton Key

Little Girl Destiny: Chapter Five

Soon after Destiny's birth, Caroline and Luke forgot all about the old house in the bayous and tried to continue on with the rest of their lives. It seemed like happiness was within their future. One day, Luke was staying at home with their six-month-old Destiny and was currently bouncing her on his left knee. He suddenly heard a knock on the door, and laid Destiny on her play mat.

When he went to the door, he saw an elderly woman standing in front of him. Her hair was gray, her face was wrinkled, and her eyes were glossy. Fearing that the woman would try to do something to him or Destiny, Luke tried to close the door, but the woman held it open with her cane.

"You know who I am?" The old woman asked him.

"Yes, I went to your gas station. The one on the outskirts of New Orleans. I saw you when I was going out of town for a meeting." Luke answered, folding his arms.

"Why so bitter?" She asked him.

"Because of what you said to me that day. You told me to believe in that hoodoo shit, and I did. The same week, I had my soul swiped from my body. You think that was fun? Listen, do yourself a favor, and leave. Don't ever come back."

"I am sorry for what I did to you. Truly, I am. I come here only to warn you."

"Warn me? About what? About that old house? About Justify and Cecile? No thanks. I've have had enough of New Orleans and that superstition."

"You must leave Louisiana…and never come back," the old woman expressed, clutching onto Luke.

"That was my plan in the first place. We were going to leave, but not until Destiny was older."

"No. It must be now. It must be now." She muttered.

The old woman then took off running, and Luke thought nothing of it and stepped back inside.

He placed Destiny back on his lap and kissed the top of her soft head.

"You don't pay any mind to her, Destiny," he told her. "There's nothing that can harm you now."

Moments later, Caroline arrived in her scrubs.

Luke couldn't help but laugh at his wife's filthy appearance.

"Don't knock it, Luke. Kate had called in sick, so I had to assist a doctor in the maternity ward. That's all." She explained her appearance.

"Well, either way, we've missed you," he expressed.

Caroline smiled and took Destiny from off Luke's lap, giving her a kiss on the cheek and holding her to her chest. She then leaned over and kissed Luke.

"It's weird," she went. "When I was coming down the hall at the hospital, I passed by this old woman. She seemed like a real nutcase."

"She IS a nutcase."

"You mean you know her?"

"It was probably that old hag from the gas station, that's all."

"You let her into the house? With Destiny?" Caroline yelled, concerned.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. She didn't get near Destiny. I didn't even let her into the house."

"Why did she come here, anyway?"

"She only told me that we shouldn't stay here, that we should leave Louisiana."

Caroline then walked away from Luke and went to Destiny's nursery, laying her down in her crib.

"Carrie, you can't believe her. She probably still believes Elvis is alive." Luke tried to joke.

"She wasn't wrong before, Luke. She knew what was going on inside of that house, about the Thorpe family and everything. She even knew about Justify and…"

Luke walked over to Caroline and hugged her, giving her a small kiss on the forehead.

"She's wrong, baby. I know she is. Destiny is safe. She's with us."

"Still, if there is a chance that she was right, even if it's small, I want to take it. Luke, we really need to get out of Louisiana soon."

"Next year. I promise. When I finish up this case, they will pay me enough for a home and then more. Just wait one more year."

Caroline nodded and kissed Luke, she left the nursery.

-x-

Later in the night, Luke and Caroline were in bed, sleeping peacefully. Well, Luke was, at least, but Caroline was tossing, turning and moaning in her sleep, almost as if she were having a nightmare.

She suddenly sprung up in the bed, screaming out Destiny's name.

Luke woke up and wrapped his arms around Caroline.

"Carrie, what happened?" He asked her.

"Luke, I'm scared," she whimpered, clutching onto Luke's right arm.

"Why? It was just a bad dream."

"You don't understand. It was about Destiny. She was much older, but it was her."

"What happened?"

"She was in a bath tub and Cecile came and drowned her. When she pulled her out, her body was pale and… Oh, God."

Before Luke had a chance to speak, they both heard Destiny wailing from her nursery.

Luke sighed and crawled out of bed, leaving a frightened and completely distraught Caroline alone in the dark of their room.

She wanted to believe that it was just a terrible dream, but something in the back of mind told her not to disregard the dream just yet.


	7. Chapter Six

Creation began on 01-29-15

Creation ended on 01-30-15

The Skeleton Key

Little Girl Destiny: Chapter Six

As promised by Luke, a year later, he, Caroline and Destiny moved away from Louisiana and to a large apartment in New York. As their daughter laid on her play mat, Luke and Caroline worked together to unpack their stuff.

Caroline seemed tired, as she hadn't been sleeping well since her nightmare. The nightmare also seemed to be on her mind most of the time since it was experienced.

"It's gonna take a lifetime to unpack, isn't it?" Luke asked, giving a light chuckle.

Caroline didn't pay any attention.

He sighed and continued to remove items from the boxes. Soon enough, he came across a book. There was nothing printed on the front or back of the book's cover. It was old, covered with dust, and the spine itself had practically fallen off long ago.

"Honey, is this yours?" He asked Caroline.

"No. I have all of my books still in the moving van," she answered him.

"Well, this has to belong to one of us."

"Well, read it. See if you recognize it."

Luke scanned through the book and realized that it had no words. There were only photos and lots of them. It was an old picture album.

"It's an album," he revealed.

"Do you remember taking any of the pictures?" She asked.

"I couldn't have taken any of these pictures. They're dated back to the Nineteen-Twenties. Maybe some of the Deverauxs' belongings got mixed in with our stuff."

"Let me see it."

Luke handed the photo album over to Caroline, who flipped through it. It didn't take her long to come across a photo of Papa Justify and Mama Cecile.

She gasped and tossed the photo album back into the box.

"Carrie, what is it?"

"Th… There was a picture of Cecile. I just freaked out."

"It's only a picture, Caroline. We've been over this before: Cecile is dead, Justify is dead, Destiny is with us, and she's safe. We're out of Louisiana. It's time for us to start our lives over."

"You're right. I'm going to put Destiny down for a nap."

"Maybe I should do it."

"No, no, you should keep unpacking. I'll be back in a minute."

Caroline picked Destiny up off her play mat and carried her to another room.

Luke let out a simple sigh and continued to unpack the boxes.

Caroline laid Destiny down in her crib and kissed her forehead.

"I promise you, baby. No one's going to take you away from me. I won't let those monsters anywhere near you."

A/N: And this chapter marks the last of what Lollipop456 started that I reworked. In due time, I shall create a new chapter that will carry on what was started long ago. I hope you readers out there will review this and give opinions and/or possible suggestions. Peace.


End file.
